I'm going to be an exchange student next year and I will be going to Japan. What are some differences in the teens in Japan compared to teens in the United States? I want to be able to make friends and have fun but I know that there are bound to be some differences besides the obvious cultural ones. So, help please?
Other - Cultures & Groups - 3 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
You would make friends but I have a friend who applied for some sort of exchange programme and while he thought he would go there and have some fun (playing video games and going karaoke), to his disappointment he found that most (if not all) of his japanese friends were just interesting in studying..constantly when it came down to it. Even during the weekends. To make it worst in the summer he thought it would get better but you would find most of them just enrol in some cram school during the summer! He said it was a not really the experience he was expecting but he was glad he got to immense himself in the culture. From what he told me, exchanging as a student was difficult due to the language barrier and he would rather just visit the country as a tourist than live life there.
2 :
They are smart, they respect the teachers and other students, they are polite and well mannered, they don't talk back to elders. They don't fight in the class room or cuss the teachers. They walk down the halls in a orderly way. They don't carry guns or knifes to school.
3 :
They are (generally) very respectful, and have a great deal of pressure put on them by teachers and parents to succeed in school. You shouldn't really have any problems making friends. They're not all about work, but work is usually completed before any fun is to be had. :D Some random interesting and helpful things you should know when visiting Japan are... If you stay with a host family, during meals, if you are full, make sure to leave a little bit of food on your plate, and a little bit of your drink in your glass. Finishing the entire meal means that you are very hungry, and still want to eat more. Bowing in Japan is the equivalent of a handshake in America. While shaking hands has become somewhat more common in Japan recently, bowing is the preferred gesture when meeting someone for the first time, or when showing respect. Pretty much, just remember to bow to all the adults (respect is often shown to people based on how old they are; when meeting a person's grandparents, you might bow a little deeper than you would when meeting their parents), less than a 45 degree angle, bending from the waist. If your bow isn't deep enough, it could be seen as insulting. If you bow too low, a person may think that you are mocking them. Many Japanese students have school six days of the week, and their school days tend to last longer, and they may get home later because of cram school. Summer break doesn't last nearly as long for them as it does for students in the U.S.
